Jakarta – The Jakarta Police is set to block websites that offer illegal abortion services and products over public health and safety concerns.
Jakarta Police's special crimes unit head Sr. Comr. Roma Hutajulu told tempo.co on Thursday that his office had discovered a number of websites containing contact details of several illegal abortion clinics across the capital.
In addition to abortion services, such clinics also offer drugs to induce miscarriage, according to him.
"We have checked [the abortion sites] and will take action," Roma said.
He went on to say that the police had also scoured social media platforms to find offers of illicit abortion services. In one case, the LinkedIn profile of a company in North Jakarta offers a variety of abortion pills.
The Communications and Information Ministry has yet to provide any statement on the matter.
On Wednesday, police arrested ten individuals linked to an abortion clinic in Senen, Central Jakarta, that advertised its services and products on the internet.
The clinic has reportedly aborted more than 32,000 fetuses since 2017. It charges Rp 2 million (US$134.47) for the abortion of fetuses under five weeks of age and Rp 4 million for fetuses older than five weeks, according to one of the suspects, the police said.
Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Yusri Yunus said the clinic would typically serve five to six patients per day and had generated over Rp 10 billion in revenue since its founding. (rfa)